


Seven Deadly Sins

by wonderfulchaos



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hell's Competition, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-10-07 13:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10361529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderfulchaos/pseuds/wonderfulchaos
Summary: Once every one hundred years, the Sins gather in hell to compete for who will reign supreme for the next century.





	

Most people assume hell to made of brimstone and misery.

That wasn’t wrong, per se, given the core of hell was simply a massive ball of souls lighting themselves on fire, but it was a pretty bright place altgoether. There was well-coordinated traffic routes and neon lights posted up in advertisement for the latest trend. Lately, it had been ‘how to properly whisper damnation into the ears of the innocent, a guide for dummies’, since not every demon in hell knew what they were doing.

This year, though, there was a lot of commotion. Not only was there an increase in traffic and wild parties, but the original Seven Sins had come to visit for the annual competition. Not to mention, the uninvited Eighth had shown up too, always one to sneak in when no one was looking - and really, the audience had stopped getting disgruntled after the first couple of times it had happened. Now, they just accepted it as another part of the show.

A show that was put on every one hundred years, and the rest of hell’s residents were excited to see what would happen this time. The Creator, the one who had brought forth the Sins into the forms they now had, was the judge for the competition. Along with a few chosen humans; apparently choosing one human for every sin. The Creator called it 'being impartial’, but the audience called it 'free food after the show’.

Last year’s winner was Sloth, who had nearly overthrown The Creator’s judgement after the fact because it was such a pain to deal with spreading 'sin’ everywhere. Too much work, for a sin that’s primary job was to laze about. Sloth had argued that there were too many hardworking people in the world and he couldn’t possibly make every single one of them lazy. In return, the Creator had insisted he do his job and sent him back to the human world, where he had toiled for the past one hundred years.

Needless to say, Sloth was the most unmotivated for this competition, having worked too much for too long. _Such a pain_ , he was still caught saying, along with: _I won’t ever do that again_. He had high hopes for the others in the competition. He would even make it easy for them; he wouldn’t lift a finger.

The most excited for the matches to start was Gluttony, who had a good feeling that this year’s competition would be his. It had been too long since his last reign throughout the human world. He was pumped to fight. Taking names and asking questions later, that was what he was all about. The judge that had been assigned to him was a peevish man, the sort that adjusted their glasses to look cool and ruined the effect with a very no-nonsense expression on a scrunched up face.

Gluttony decided he liked him and put him in a headlock outside the arena, giving him a noogie as he laughed, “Don’t worry! If you help me win, we hardly ever eat the winner’s chosen judge!” For some reason, the man didn’t look assured of anything. Instead, he was caught mumbling about being prepared for the worst. _Oh well_ , Gluttony thought, _he just has to do his job right and that’s that. I’ll win for sure!_

According to the polls, however, it seemed fated that Greed would win this year. A Sin that had been stewing in wait for centuries, biding his time. After a tragic accident that resulted in the loss of his most favored judge, he had never been the same - and it showed. More flamboyant were his gestures, more audacious was his speech. Not a tournament had gone by since that he did not try to slaughter the entire lot of judges in one fell swoop, a maddened grin on his face and a bloody rapier within his grasp.

There was something different about this year, though. This year gave hell’s demons hope that they would bear witness to a Sin thought long dead. Whether because of his newest judge’s doing, or because he had mellowed with time’s passage, it seemed Greed was taking the competition seriously for once. High expectations were placed on his shoulders. As well as high stake bets.

The other contenders: Wrath, Lust, Envy, Pride, as well the uninvited Eighth also had supporters among the crowd. Not as many, nor as vocal, but there were plenty who wanted to see them show the others what was what when it came to sinning. Surely, argued those who sided with Pride, over confident humans should be the next big thing. Tasty were the humans who fell victim to their own follies, building an ego that could not be quelled until they fell prey to the pits of hell.

Others liked Lust more and thought there was nothing more sweet and tempting than the sight of a human that let something so primal overrule their senses. Except Lust laughed every time it was brought up and waved a dismissive hand, telling his supporters, “Oh no, I couldn’t. I have a cute little judge to protect from such sights!” That didn’t stop him from stripping in front of his cute little judge and getting a slipper thrown at his face.

Then there were Envy’s supporters, who were as quiet as could be, easily blending in with the crowd like the one they so admired. For centuries, they had pleaded with Envy to stand out the most, to not take the backseat and let the world know of a jealous person’s reckoning. To again find someone who could shake the foundation of the world solely for their own selfish sake. Envy had shaken his head at the prompting and mumbled, “I have my hands full,” as he pointed to the young blond man leaning a little too close to the hellfire pits, barely being snatched back in time by Envy who heaved a world weary sigh.

Lastly, for the original Seven, was the Sin of Wrath. She was reportedly the strongest. None of the others questioned her and her supporters worshipped the ground she walked on. For there was nothing more alluring to them than the strength of emotion that she wrought in her wake. Her Sin was the intrusive kind, the one that lingered in the back of a human’s mind. The kind that every human was capable of when the pressure was on. The easiest, the strongest, but also the most unpredictable. She was the one to keep an eye on during every competition, because there was no telling what was going to happen next.

Her judge, though, was caught provoking Envy’s and it nearly got the two Sins disqualified. A rally would have been held to have the humans eaten, discarded on the spot, but the Sins had loomed over the small voice that suggested it and the protest died before it even began.

Watching all of this while laughing was the Unforgivable Sin of Melancholy, who then grew bored and let everyone know, “This isn’t interesting at all.” He had purposely brought his own judge along for the ride, too, but the human had long since lost interest to him. A grumpy teenage boy going through a hormonal roller coaster, who was currently chatting up Sloth’s judge with the loveliest of smiles. Such loyalty, that one.

But Melancholy wasn’t here without reason. As the Creator’s best creation to date, he had a duty to fulfill. Namely, to liven things up. “This year,” he told the crowd that gathered in the arena, “I propose a war!” Raising his sleeve to his mouth and giggling, he elaborated, “My judge against yours. My siblings, I ask you: Do you think you can win against me? Do you think you can win with those that would have judged you?”

A murmur of interest swept the crowd into Melancholy’s pace. When the Creator gave no dismissal on the matter, the other Sins began to consider it as well. Some were uneasy at the thought of humans fighting their battles for them, but some were excited by the prospect, getting ready to push their judge into the arena as soon as the go ahead was given.

“Sleepy Ash,” spoke up the Creator at last, “the decision lies with you. What would you have us do?”

“Ugh,” Sloth rubbed at his eyes and then blinked up at the bright lights of the arena like he couldn’t make out what he was seeing. “This is going to be such a pain … I’m a peace loving sin, why do we gotta fight all of a sudden?”

“Answer the question,” the Creator insisted, but there was a subtle smile to accompany it. “Your little brother is waiting.”

“Fine, fine.” Sloth glanced at his judge next, considering, and then finally shrugged it off. “I’ll let Mahiru decide.”

“Then it’s simple,” Mahiru declared as he stepped forward, “we take responsibility for our Sins and fight in their place. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Rolling his eyes, Sloth told them, “You heard the man. It’s going to be troublesome, but I guess I’ll help out anyway. Here, wear this.” He draped his judge in the fur-lined jacket he had been wearing, bringing the shadows hidden amongst the fur to life with a touch of his hand. “Go get 'em, tiger.”

Likewise, the other judges were given trinkets from their Sins and it began, the first War to grace the competitions in hell. It was a sight that the audience couldn’t tear their eyes away from. For what better sight was there than a soul dancing on a puppet string for the sake of their own demise.


End file.
